I Think He's Left, But Is That Right?

How do we determine hand dominance? It's a question about James that's been bugging me for almost a year. His sister was pretty easy to determine as a right-handed and footed person because she consistently used the right side of her body to write, draw, kick, and throw. James, in keeping with the mysterious/super powers aspect of his personality, is keeping the whole dominant hand card game close to his chest (with both hands).

Last year, when he had better mastery of eating with utensils and was starting to use markers and paint brushes, I started watching his to see which hand he used. A lot of times it was his left. Then he started to use his right. I know that many kids do this, but by a certain age, children need to have a dominant hand to support. I started discussions with his preschool teacher, who recommended a wait-and-see approach, as well as a helpful suggestion of not handing him something, but rather putting it on the table in between his left and right hand. James continued to experiment, but then picked it up with his left and transferred to his right.

Through this Spring and Summer, he continued to throw consistently with his left hand, kick with his left foot. He also used his left fingers to draw in the sand and WRITE HIS NAME IN THE CAPRET (this, when his teacher and O/T said he could not write and needed to concentrate on making circles and crosses). Yet for table activities he usually picked up with his left and transferred to his right.

I am not trying to discount the knowledge and experience of James' preschool teacher or O/T (the same O/T as in his preschool), but I continue to push the question of hand dominance with James. There are many left-handed people in my Mom's side of the family, and my uncle has shared stories about being punished when using his left hand and being made to use his right (which he hated and now no longer does). My mother taught SpEd for many years and I remember her talking about how not determining hand-eye-foot dominance can make some learning disabilities harder to overcome. In short: I worry that James' development will be negatively impacted by this protracted waffling about which is his dominant hand.

I am now being told that "some people" are ambidextrous, which is "fine". That "some people" don't settle on a dominant hand "for a while". That "some people" have a dominant left foot and a dominant right hand. This adds to my concern, because while I am sure this is fine and dandy for many of the "some people", this is our James, and I think we need to start supporting the appropriate hand NOW, because he is just getting this school thang, is absolutely in love with it, and does better when he builds consistently on a routine.

I've watched him get excited about playing a game with other kids in a room full of beach balls, just waiting to be kicked. I've seen how long it takes his brain to process (1) the ball (2) the activity (3) triangulation of said ball in regards to his body (4) figuring out where his legs, then feet are (5) shifting from one foot to another to find his starting foot and then (6) brace on one foot and start the kick with the other. Somewhere in between steps 4 and 6, I watch another kid zoom in and kick his ball out from under his foot. Yes, that's a game; he had fun and practiced; it won't always be like that. I want this to limit this happening with him at school, learning-wise.

I'm his mom and I worry. It goes with the job. If anyone has any helpful ideas, I'd love to hear them.